Friday, September 24, 2010

Oxen Pull Stone in Vermont Quarry



Eight oxen pull a block of marble from a Vermont quarry. The two in the rear may be acting as brakes for the wagon, or they could be resting. The article in Century Magazine, 1890, is colorfully written and an enjoyable read. Here is a quote: Passing close beside a deliberate ox-team and its bawling driver comes a puffing locomotive, tugging its long train of cars up the track among the towering piles of un-hewn marble. Side by side work the old and the new, each performing better than the other could its proper task.


The oxen enter the damp, dim stone-sawing mill, the machinery growls and hisses as it gnaws the stone like some monstrous beast in its den over its prey, and hardly another sound is heard. The lusty outdoor bawl of the ox-teamster sinks here to the pervading growl, and the whistle of his lash attunes itself to the swish of the saws.

Thanks to the work of an excellent website about stone structures in the northeastern United States, the complete article is available for your enjoyment, here: http://www.stonestructures.org/html/marble_hills_vermont.html


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A Comfy Spot for a Kitten on a Rainy Day

Sure beats hanging out under the floor-boards of the granary.
(See four posts on 8/1/2010 for the story of Squeak the Kitten's rescue by Harry the Dog.)
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Sophia the Cat Gets a New Name

 
Alas, our two orphan kittens are both tomcats. So Sophia the Cat is now called Soapy; the kitten is still Squeak. Here they are --- hanging out.

The other day Squeak was missing. I called Harry the Dog and he came from the barn with a look of guilty-pleasure on his face. I found Squeak in a cubbyhole about five feet up on the barn wall, where he had no doubt escaped to, when I called off the dog. Peaches the Pony was checking him out.

Harry likes to pick up the cats and drag them around like stuffed animals. 
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Harry the Dog Vies for Attention


Hyper-exuberance!
Ayrshire ox and Newfoundland x Pit Bull Terrier dog
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Harry the Dog Fetches the Pop


case
"Bring me a can^of pop please."

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